Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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825. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will seek a derogation from the ban on pollack fishing for some limited categories of inshore and island fishers that can demonstrate that they utilise low-impact methods of fishing. [44173/24]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The advice on fish stocks, including Pollack, published by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) forms the basis of the scientific advice used by the European Commission in proposing Total Allowable Catches (TACs). The ICES advice for Pollack in ICES Areas 6-7 (the waters around Ireland) for 2024 was for zero catch.

Following the conclusion of the EU-UK negotiations on 2024 fishing opportunities for shared stocks, the parties agreed on a limited, by-catch only TAC for Pollack in Areas 6-7 to avoid a "choke" situation which would lead to the premature closure of whitefish fisheries where Pollack is caught as a by-catch. Given the scientific advice for this stock, the need to balance socio-economic considerations with achieving good biological status for stocks, and taking into account the challenges of managing mixed fisheries, setting a by-catch only TAC is the most appropriate approach.

As the ICES advice for Pollack in ICES Areas 6-7 for 2025 is again for zero catch, I will be seeking that a similar approach be taken in the EU-UK negotiations on 2025 fishing opportunities. This approach allows fishers to continue to operate in the fisheries in which Pollack is caught as a bycatch. By not targeting Pollack directly, this prevents excessive pressure on the stock and, in doing so, helps the stock recover.

Ireland is actively involved with the scientific research to improve the understanding of Pollack. The Marine Institute is taking a leading role in the next ICES benchmark process for this stock, which will be completed in the spring of 2025. An alternative assessment model, one which uses additional sources of data, will be evaluated as part of this process.

While the preliminary results indicate that this extra information does not change the perception of the stock, the new model will give a more precise estimate of the state of the stock and improve short-term forecasts that determine when the target fishery could re-open.

In addition, the Marine Institute is actively working with scientists from the UK and France on a number of fronts, including genetic analysis of Pollack stock structure and analysing historic data from commercial fisheries, recreational fisheries and scientific surveys.